Legend of Lyoko: Part 2
by Ulrich-Stern3277
Summary: Nationals for Basketball, crazy events going on in town, Alex has a crazy life outside of Lyoko, but when he finds out why the scyphozoa is after him, he may leave his friends behind, ending his relationship with Aelita. What will happen? Read on to see!
1. To Nationals

The day started out pretty normal, stopping a XANA attack before Nationals. XANA had activated two towers in the ice sector, one regular and one of his new dark towers. Anyway Alex and Aelita were the only two available to go to Lyoko, one tower down, now they were bound for the dark tower. The two were cruising across the ice on Alex's silver Overbike. Alex was concentrating on the ice ahead while Aelita was watching the rear to see if they were being followed.

In the lab Jeremy was monitoring them but then saw a red blip show up and it was gaining fast. Pulling up another window on the interface, Jeremy saw it was the Scyphozoa, and he wondered who it was after. Could it be XANA was after Alex again, or was he after Aelita? "Careful you two, you have an old friend off on your left." Aelita looked off and screamed as she was grabbed by the Scyphozoa. Alex hit the brakes, got off his bike and was instantly blocked by a Krabe. "Great, a Krabe. Hey Jeremy, XANA sent me dinner, but since I don't like what he's serving I'll send it back." Alex joked. In the lab Jeremy chuckled but said, "Make it fast Alex; you need to get rid of another problem too."

Alex drew his sword and super sprinted right under the Krabe. He made a mental calculation and thrust upwards, and ran off towards his squishy advisary. Behind him the Krabe exploded and Alex brought his sword down on the tentacles of the Scyphozoa. They fell to the ground and Aelita was released. He picked her up, mounted her on his Overbike then kept driving towards the dark tower.

Outside the dark tower, a tarantula laid in wait. It had one objective, stop Alex from deactivating the black tower. But Alex stopped short of the tarantula's hiding spot. He dismounted and super sprinted right into the tower. Aelita regained consciousness and took out the tarantula then decided to devirtualize herself. She shoved an energy field into her chest and devirtualized.

In the scanner room Aelita came out shuttering, moments later, Alex walked out of the scanner on her right. They went upstairs to the lab; Jeremy congratulated them on a job well done, and then the three left the factory. On the way back to the school Jeremy started talking about his new portable scanners. He could virtualize his friends from anywhere in the country now, the thing is that they hadn't been tested, but being the way he is, Jeremy packed them into his suitcase to take along to nationals, should anything happen.

Back at Kadic, Alex and Jeremy were packing their suitcases and gym bags; Alex was done with his suitcase and was packing his uniform and warm-ups in his gym bag. After placing his basketball shoes in with his uniform, Alex zipped it up and tossed it with his suitcase. Jeremy also finished packing and the two roomies, left holding their luggage. Outside by the gates, team Lyoko met up and Odd asked, "How are we getting to Paris so we can play?"

Alex just smiled and starting counting back from three, "3…2…1." As if on cue a black stretched limo pulled up and Alex opened the door. "Hop in guys!" he told them. After everyone loaded their stuff in the trunk and got seated, the limo took off. "Ok guys listen, Paris is a six hour drive from here, in case of a XANA attack Jeremy brought the portable scanners along.

Next to Alex and Aelita, Jeremy looked up from William's novel "Brass Knuckles of Death" and said "That's right; if XANA attacks we don't have to travel back to the factory to stop him. But these can only be used on long-distance trips." Everyone acknowledged, Alex opened the mini-fridge and started passing out sodas to his friends. "Here's to victory" he said raising his soda bottle "and bringing home that championship trophy for Kadic."

Ulrich piped up "Hey Alex, how'd you get a limo for us to ride in?" he asked. Alex smiled and said "This is one of my mom and dad's. My parents are multi millionaires, and they gave me a choice between this one and the blue one. I chose this one because of the custom rims, detailing, engine, and upholstery. Now who wants one of my mom's homemade hubcap cookies? In case you're wondering, all they are is just a big chocolate chip cookie." To prove his point he pulled them out of the mini-fridge and passed them round.

The limo pulled into Paris around 7 p.m. and pulled up to their hotel. Hotel de Crillon was five blocks away from the sports complex and was a beauty all its own. "Damn," Alex said to himself "Mom and dad really pulled out the stops this time." They walked inside and Alex went up to the front desk. A young gentleman was seated there and when he saw Alex he said "You must be Alex, your mother and father told us you'd be staying here for two nights. For your party of seven we have the Louis XV and the Bernstein suites for you, here are your room keys. Enjoy your stay, and good luck at tomorrow's game. I hope you kick some Spartan ass.

Alex returned to his friends and handed the girls and Ulrich the key cards for the Bernstein suite. Odd, Jeremy, William and him would sleep in the Louis XV suite because of the room. Alex led his friends to the stairs and they went up to the fifth floor. Inside the Louis XV suite Alex went to one of the two bedrooms and set his stuff down. Odd and William took the couches and Jeremy set up in the other room. He unloaded his laptop a large hard drive set-up and the portable scanner pads. By the time the group was all settled in, they decided to get changed for bed and get some sleep.


	2. Nationals

Alex was the first one up; he grabbed his basketball day clothes (black wolves' polo, khakis, and a pair of black loafers) and went to shower up. In the shower Alex started thinking about the game that afternoon. He wondered what the results would be, but then concentrated on what was most important, his friends. When he got out, Odd went in and Alex started brushing his teeth.

After breakfast and a little sight-seeing, the group arrived at the sports complex, the guys veered off for the locker room well Yumi and Aelita went off to find a place to get changed into their cheerleading uniforms. After what seemed like forever of waiting the Kadic cheerleaders were sitting on the bench behind where the Wolves would sit. The announcer picked up a microphone and started player introductions, first for the Fighting Spartans.

After that the player introductions for the Wolves came up, and the Kadic fans went nuts. The announcer spoke. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, the Kadic Wolves!" The noise that followed was more cheering from the Kadic student section.

"At center, number 20 Ulrich Stern!"

"At guard, number 16 Alex Clelland!"

"At the other guard, number 26 Odd Della Robia!"

"Playing at forward, number 28 William Dunbar!"

"And at the other forward, number 00 Jeremy Belpois!"

After the cheering died down a little the announcer continued "The wolves are coached by head coach Jim Morales, and assistant coach Chris Morales, student manager Hiroki Ishiyama, and statistician Emmanuel Maillard, cheerleaders, Captain Yumi Ishiyama, Aelita Stones, Elizabeth Delmas, Nicholas Poliakoff, and Herb Pinchion. Officials for tonight's game are Nicholas Atlan, Christophe di Sabatino and Noam Kanniel! Now let's play some basketball!"

Ulrich snagged the tip and sent it back to William; William went around two defenders, and passed it to Alex, who shot it in for 3. This kept up until half-time. When the second quarter ended the score was Wolves: 36, Spartans: 24. Jim told the team to try a new strategy because the Spartans were catching on to them. Alex turned around and looked at the scoreboard. Suddenly the numbers on it started flickering and on the main jumbo-tron, the eye of XANA appeared, and several specters came out of it and went into the fighting Spartans. Alex looked at Jeremy and the two got Odd and Ulrich's attention away from the water. When they saw what was going on and the four told William to stay behind and update them on what was happening. He nodded and they ran off.

Back at the hotel Jeremy opened up his laptop and Alex, Odd, and Ulrich stood on the portable scan pads. "Are you ready guys?" Jeremy asked. Alex just said "Hit it dude, we don't have all night." Jeremy started up the procedure.

"Transfer Alex… transfer Odd… transfer Ulrich, scanner, and virtualization!" Jeremy said. In a flash of bright light Alex, Odd, and Ulrich were remotely sent to Lyoko. Jeremy opened the super scan and double checked that it was a dark tower that was active. In the forest sector XANA's monsters were gathering at the base of the activated dark tower. Meanwhile, about 3000 meters away Alex and Ulrich were super sprinting with Odd following quickly on all fours. Jeremy gave the guys a forewarning about what XANA had waiting for them.

"Careful guys, XANA's got his larger guns waiting for you guys at the tower. I count 4 Krabes, and 2 Tarantulas laying in wait, along with the Scyphozoa." He told them. Alex pulled to a halt well Odd and Ulrich engaged the monsters Odd took out 3 Krabes was hit by a Tarantula and devirtualized and Ulrich took out the last krabe but not the Scyphozoa or the other Tarantula. The tarantula fired and devirtualized Ulrich. That's when Alex came in, pistols blazing. The Tarantula exploded and Alex took aim for the Scyphozoa.

Before he could pull the triggers he was snagged, immobilized by two of its tentacles. Three more tentacles hovered towards his head and started to XANAfy him. "Oh no" Jeremy cried "the Scyphozoa has Alex in his grasp. Odd, go get Yumi and Aelita." Odd nodded and opened the door. Standing there was Yumi, she looked out of breath.

"The…fighting…Spartans…are…using…the…basketballs…as…dodge…balls." After catching her breath she asked "Has Alex disabled the dark tower yet?"

"No, he's been captured by the Scyphozoa, get on a pad and I'll send you in." Jeremy told her. Yumi stepped onto a pad. She was a little nervous but Jeremy started the procedure. "Here goes nothing, transfer Yumi…scanner Yumi…and virtualization!" In a flash of light she vanished and reappeared on Lyoko. "Alex is 400 meters north of your position, better move quick the Scyphozoa is almost done with his work.

Yumi tore off running, punted 5 kankrelats into the digital sea, and found the Scyphozoa. She threw both of her tessan fans, both severed tentacles, causing Alex to drop to the ground. Yumi grabbed one of his pistols, took aim and fired three shots at the Scyphozoa, causing it to float away. Alex stood up and dusted himself off before taking his gun back and hugging Yumi.

"Thanks Yumi, you got here in the nick of time. With that Alex went into the dark tower and disabled it. William called Jeremy to tell him that people were getting the feeling something strange was afoot. Jeremy had the perfect idea, a return to the past. He launched it and things reverted to the end of halftime at the game.

Ulrich started the ball and passed it to Alex, Alex caught the ball and took off down court, the fighting Spartans got in his way, but Alex was clever, "Hey Belpois heads up!" The ball sailed though the air towards Jeremy's waiting hands. Jeremy caught it and started making his way down court. When he reached the 3-point line he was blocked by 3 defenders. Jeremy took aim, jumped and sank the ball for 3. The 3rd quarter seemed to end pretty quickly. That's when Odd tripped and sprained his ankle. Jim quick made the substitution while Chris inspected Odd's injury "Dunbar, you're in for Della Robia. Go!" William nodded and took the court.

On the side lines, Aelita was adjusting her black cheerleader's skirt when she looked up to see that her boyfriend, Alex, had the ball and was tearing down court followed by defenders. Alex came near the net, jumped, and slammed the ball in for 2. The quarter kept ticking by until there were 10 seconds left on the clock. Ulrich was on the side lines near where Alex's parents and Chandler were sitting. He passed it to William who made his way down court but was cut off by a wall of green.

William passed it to Alex, who caught it and got past the half-court line before being cut off by the fighting Spartans. Alex passed it to Jeremy who caught it and threw it in for a 3 point buzzer beater. The Kadic fans went nuts as the buzzer sounded and the game was over. Final score Wolves: 61, Spartans: 58.

Over the loud speakers the announcers voice sounded out "Ladies and gentleman, your national champions; the Kadic Wolves! Now on to the awards ceremony, Player of the Game goes to Jeremy Belpois, 100th career 3-pointer goes to Alex Clelland, Season MVP for the Wolves goes to Odd Della Robia, and finally the Go-to guy award goes to Ulrich Stern.

The night finished up with a party, and then off to bed they went. The next morning they were bound for Kadic, trophy in hand. They were happy as they could be.

**A/N: Props for using the names of the show's Producer, Executive Producer, and Theme Song Writer/Singer as officials :)**


	3. The Rap Battle

As a treat for their streak of success on Lyoko (stopping XANA attacks), Alex took his friends out to his favorite under 21 club. There was a live band, pool tables, dart boards, and of course all the soda a teenager could drink. Anyway Alex stepped up to the bar to grab a root beer, but when he turned around he smacked right into Lance Carver, Kashiwa Academy's best rapper, but what Lance didn't know was that Alex too, was born to rap.

Lance opened his mouth "Hey punk! You, me, rap battle, now, Pick your artist. I choose Tech N9ne, who's yours?" Alex cocked his head and simply said "Eminem."

Lance took the stage and announced the rap battle then rapped out Tech N9ne's "The Beast" That's when Alex took the stage. He asked the band if they knew "Lose Yourself" the band's front man smiled and nodded his head. They started the opening piano part and guitar riff. That's when Alex came in.

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity  
>To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment<br>Would you capture it or just let it slip?  
>Yo<p>

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy  
>There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti<br>He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs,  
>but he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down,<br>the whole crowd goes so loud  
>He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out<br>He's choking how, everybody's joking now  
>The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!<br>Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity  
>Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked<br>He's so mad, but he won't give up that  
>Easy, no<br>He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes  
>It don't matter, he's dope<br>He knows that, but he's broke  
>He's so stagnant that he knows<br>When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's  
>Back to the lab again, yo<br>This whole rhapsody  
>He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him<p>

_[Hook:]_  
>You better lose yourself in the music, the moment<br>You own it, you better never let it go  
>You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow<br>This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo  
>(You better)<p>

The soul's escaping, through this hole that is gaping  
>This world is mine for the taking<br>Make me king, as we move toward a new world order  
>A normal life is boring, but superstardom's close to post mortem<br>It only grows harder, only grows hotter  
>He blows us all over these hoes is all on him<br>Coast to coast shows, he's known as the globetrotter  
>Lonely roads, God only knows<br>He's grown farther from home, he's no father  
>He goes home and barely knows his own daughter<br>But hold your nose 'cause here goes the cold water  
>His hoes don't want him no more, he's cold product<br>They moved on to the next schmoe who flows  
>He nose dove and sold nada<br>So the soap opera is told and unfolds  
>I suppose it's old partner but the beat goes on<br>Da da dum da dum da da

_[Hook]_

No more games, I'mma change what you call rage  
>Tear this motherfucking roof off like 2 dogs caged<br>I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed  
>I've been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage<br>But I kept rhyming and stepped right into the next cypher  
>Best believe somebody's paying the pied piper<br>All the pain inside amplified by the fact  
>That I can't get by with my 9 to 5<br>And I can't provide the right type of life for my family  
>Cause man, these god damn food stamps don't buy diapers<br>And it's no movie, there's no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life  
>And these times are so hard, and it's getting even harder<br>Trying to feed and water my seed, plus  
>Teeter totter caught up between being a father and a prima donna<br>Baby mama drama's screaming on and  
>Too much for me to wanna<br>Stay in one spot, another day of monotony  
>Has gotten me to the point, I'm like a snail<br>I've got to formulate a plot or I end up in jail or shot  
>Success is my only motherfucking option, failure's not<br>Mom, I love you, but this trailer's got to go  
>I cannot grow old in Salem's lot<br>So here I go it's my shot.  
>Feet fail me not, this may be the only opportunity that I got<p>

_[Hook]_

You can do anything you set your mind to, man

Alex finished strong after the song ended, he had gotten so into the music, that when it was over. He set the mic back in its stand, went up to Lance and said "Your move bitch." Then he walked back to his friends, who were cheering loudly.

Yumi spoke up "Alex, I didn't know that you could rap."

Alex looked over at her and said "Yumi, you're going to be seeing me do a lot of things you've never seen me do before."

The group shared a laugh, got some root beer, and went off. They dropped Yumi off at home, Aelita, Chandler, William, Odd and Ulrich in their dorms, and Alex walked back to his room. He went in, pulled on a pair of sleep pants and lay on his bed. Jeremy was at the factory doing something, Alex didn't really care. He pulled out his cell phone, it read 10:45 PM. Alex closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	4. The Return of Chandler

Alex was reading in the library one morning when he got a text from Odd that read _Get to the factory ASAP. Code: XANA. Dark Tower –Odd. _Alex put his book back on the shelf and left, outside Chandler was by the park entrance when Alex ran by. Chandler followed Alex all the way to the manhole cover. That's when he lost sight Alex; he stood on the manhole wondering where Alex went when he suddenly had a vision of fragment of an old memory. He lifted the manhole and climbed down the ladder. He noticed that his skateboard was there; he got on and kicked off bound towards the factory.

Chandler stopped at the ladder and climbed up. He walked across the bridge and inside, snagged a rope and swung down. After stepping into the elevator he pressed the button and the elevator began its decent. The door opened when it reached the lab and Chandler stepped out and Jeremy looked up thinking it was the police. When he saw it was Chandler he said, "Oh good your back, Go downstairs and get in a scanner. The others could use a little backup."

Chandler was completely confused "What are you talking about Jeremy? I want an explanation now!" Jeremy just said "Things will come back to you when you get to Lyoko. Now do what I said and go downstairs."

Chandler went down to the scanner while Jeremy made contact with Alex and the others. "Hey guys, I'm sending you help to take care of that swarm of Hornets and herd of Krabes." Alex's audio-card came to life "That's great Einstein, my guess is that Chandler's back."

"Umm… Yes you're right Alex, but how did you know?

"I took a shot in the dark and hit the bull's-eye."

"Well, here he comes, transfer Chandler…scanner…virtualization!"

On Lyoko, Chandler hit the ground and Jeremy activated a special program to bring Chandler's memories out from deep within his subconscious. A million images flashed in front of Chandler's eyes and the ginger haired teenager hit the ground. Alex went over and helped him up. "Hey there Chandler, welcome back to Lyoko."

"It's great to be back Alex…so dark tower?" he asked. Alex nodded. "Let's roll out. Jeremy we need our rides!"

Jeremy called up Alex and Ulrich's Overbikes, Odd and Chandler's Overboards, Yumi's Overwing, and when he called up William's white manta it came flying out of the digital sea instead of forming in front of the group. The group took off bound for the dark tower, meanwhile; out in the real world Alex's shop project was on a rampage, it was shooting basketballs at random students as it slowly made its way towards the school gates.

On Lyoko, William lost his manta to a hornet that Odd destroyed before grabbing William and setting him on the ground. William saw Alex ensnaring a 3 krabes. His Zweihander appeared in a flash of white smoke and William charged. Alex and William each took out a krabe and the last one was taken down by Chandler's judo staff blast. That's when Alex seized hi opportunity to get to the dark tower. He signaled Ulrich over to be his wing man because they both had super sprint, they took off at breakneck speed to the south; over a tree bridge, around a lake and right around a pit that led into the digital sea.

That's when they reached a tree tunnel, Alex stared down it. "The tower's down there, Jeremy, I need a ride, preferably one for two people." Jeremy looked through the team's garage, and brought Alex's Overbike back in. "Thanks Jeremy," then to Ulrich "Hop on." Alex mounted his bike and Ulrich sat back-to-back with Alex and the bike took off down the tunnel, Alex pulled out one of his wheel-lock pistols and handed it to Ulrich. "Don't worry man; it still has all 10,000 shots."

Ulrich took the gun and held it at the ready, that's when a squadron of hornets came flying down the tunnel. Ulrich pulled the trigger and took down a hornet; he quickly disposed of the rest. That's when the back of his head collided with the back of Alex's.

"Ouch, well I guess we're here." Ulrich got off and saw Alex staring down the Scyphozoa

"Not today jelly-bag, you aren't gettin' me" Alex told the Scyphozoa. Ulrich threw Alex his pistol, Alex caught it, took aim and shot at the Scyphozoa, which floated away. Alex slipped into the dark tower, went up to the top platform, and entered Code: PRINCE and disable the dark tower. The group was rematerialized, and they went back to school together, they parted ways under the arches, and when they got back to their respective rooms, they got changed and went to bed.


	5. Music is Power

Music is Power

Alex sat on a bench out in the recess yard the next morning, watching other students walk by, that's when Milly and Tamiya walked by and taped a sign up to the vending machines and walked off. Alex went up and read it. _Kadic Festival of Music for solos, duets, and ensembles, all are welcome to perform. See Mrs. Meyers for rules and an application form. Registration fee is $10. Performances will be done in one week. Prizes go to the top 3 solos, duets, or ensembles._

Alex finished reading and was putting some thought into a solo when he heard the most beautiful noise. He turned around and saw Yumi sitting on the bench he was just on. In her hands was the strangest instrument he'd ever seen, but he recognized what it was. It was an ocarina, a ball shaped flute-like instrument that's roots were in Japan.

"Hey Yumi, that was pretty nice." Alex said

Yumi looked up "Thanks Alex, I'm still a little rusty with it, but hey, I guess that I'm getting better."

"Listen, Yumi, I was wondering if you would be my partner for the Festival of Music?"

Yumi smiled "Sure Alex, you get us the song, I'll learn to play it, and we'll go and take the festival by storm."

Alex ran to Mrs. Meyers's room, filled out the form for the duet, paid the registration fee, and ran to his room, with Yumi in hot pursuit, after shuffling through a bunch of papers on the computer desk, and pulled out a folder with a Lamborghini Diablo on it, the folder was marked MUSIC, Alex opened it up and pulled out a few sheets of piano music and then an Ocarina part and handed it to Yumi.

"How do you have a part for an ocarina?" Yumi asked.

"I have a friend back in Greece that plays it; it's his late grandmother's ocarina. We wrote this song the week before my parents told me I was transferring to Kadic." Alex explained "Think you can learn this before the festival?"

Yumi nodded and took the music before heading out the door. Alex went down the music room holding the piano music in his hands. He sat down at the piano and began to play then started to sing. Yumi heard this and came in to listen, she was still holding onto the music.

Here's what Alex was singing and playing.

She walked to the mailbox  
>on that bright summers day<br>found a letter from her son  
>in a war far away<p>

He spoke of the weather  
>And good friends that he'd made<br>Said I'd been thinking 'bout dad  
>And the life that he had<br>That's why I'm here today  
>And then at the end he said<br>You are what I'm fighting for  
>It was the first of his letters from war<p>

She started writing  
>you're good and you're brave<br>what a father that you'll be someday  
>Bring him home<br>Bring him safe

She wrote every night as she prayed

Late in December  
>a day she'll not forget<br>Oh, her tears stained the paper  
>with every word that she read<p>

It said I was up on a hill  
>I was out there alone<br>When the shots all rang out  
>and bombs were exploding<br>And that's when I saw him  
>He came back for me<br>And though he was captured  
>A man set me free<br>And that man was your son

He asked me to write to you  
>I told him I would oh, I swore<br>it was the last of the letters from war

And she prayed he was living  
>Kept on believing and wrote every night just to say<p>

You're good and you're brave  
>what a father that you'll be someday<br>Bring him home  
>Bring him safe<p>

Then two years later  
>autumn leaves all around<br>a car pulled in the driveway  
>and she fell to the ground<br>and out stepped a captain  
>where her boy used to stand<p>

Said: Mom, I'm following orders  
>from all of your letters<br>and I've come home again  
>He ran into hold her<br>and dropped all his bags on the floor  
>Holding all of her letters from war<p>

Bring him home  
>Bring him home<br>Bring him home

Alex finished playing and looked up to see Yumi smiling at him. "Great song Alex, what was that?" Alex just said, "It's called Letters from War, it's a song by Mark Schultz."

Yumi nodded and looked Alex over well he sat on the piano bench. Alex stood about 6'2", making him two inches taller than her; he was wearing a blue t-shirt, his lucky white jacket, his jeans were dark blue denim, and he was wearing a pair of black and white Aeroline running shoes. His dark brown hair reminded Yumi of the brown on Ulrich's Lyoko outfit, and Yumi just felt attracted to his striking green eyes for some reason.

Alex stood up, started to say something but was cut off by Yumi (actually Yumi's lips), Alex's eyes were wide, but slowly he melted into the kiss. That's when Hiroki walked in to grab his sitar; he opened the door and found Alex and his sister in a lip lock and was angered by the sight. For a 7th grader, this kid was angry.

Alex pulled away from Yumi and ran out of the room, with Hiroki in hot pursuit. Alex reached the park he upped his speed from a jog to a full out sprint, he blitzed right towards the hermitage on the southwest side of the woods. He opened a door and slipped into the sewers.

Back in the park, Chandler and Odd were playing with Kiwi when Hiroki ran by. "Hey have you guys seen Alex?" he asked. Chandler looked confused but pointed towards the hermitage. That's when Odd asked "Why are you looking for Alex?"

"Because he was kissing my sister, I came to grab my sitar before I went home for the afternoon, and when I get into the music room there he was in a lip lock. I was angered by the thought of her cheating on Ulrich, and him cheating on Aelita. I have to find him now so I can knock a little sense into him." With that Hiroki ran off and Chandler's phone rang

"Hello?"

"Chandler, its Alex"

"Alex, Hiroki's on a man hunt, and his target is you."

"I know, and if you want the full explanation, just come to factory and I'll tell you what happened"

"Alright Alex, Odd and I are on our way, see you in a few."

Chandler and Odd ran for the manhole, climbed down the ladder, grabbed their skateboards and were bound for the factory. In a few minutes they were in the lab, face to face with Alex.

"Ok Alex" Odd said "start explaining to us what all happened."

"Honestly guys I have no idea what happened, I was just playing piano in the music room, Yumi came in, I got up to leave and that's when our lips locked." He explained to them "I have no idea what was going on with her." Alex was practically yelling this in their face, that's when the super scan went off. Alex spun around and his fingers hit the keyboard.

"Saved by XANA" Alex said, "Man, I never thought I'd say those words. Chandler, you and Odd go downstairs and get in a scanner, I'll call Aelita and meet you guys downstairs." Chandler and Odd got in the elevator and went down. Alex called Aelita and readied the delayed virtualization procedure.

Alex ran to the hatch and climbed down, he stepped into a scanner and the door closed. In a flash of light and gust of wind Alex, Chandler, and Odd entered Lyoko. The three dropped into the forest sector. Alex drew his rapier and Chandler drew his staff.

"Alright guys, we're on foot with no warning system until Einstein and Aelita get here. This is only a recon mission. We are to clear a path for Aelita get through to the tower." Alex explained to his friends. They nodded and the guys took off running. Halfway to the tower, Alex took a hit to the left arm and nearly dropped his sword.

"Cool! XANA sent us a few Hornets!" Odd said cheerfully. "They're my favorite flying monster. You guys head on, I'll play the role of exterminator." With that Odd set to firing laser arrows at his airborne advisary. Alex and Chandler spent around 15 minutes cutting a path to the tower. But the managed and Aelita came roaring up on Alex's Overbike. Aelita dismounted and went into the tower to deactivate. After a return trip, Alex explained everything to Hiroki and then watched the little seventh grader play a sitar solo he wrote.

That's when Yumi walked in, wearing a sleek black dress. Alex's jaw dropped and he quickly set to fixing his tie and straightening his tuxedo. Yumi walked up and set her bag down, slipped her ocarina out of its leather pouch, and the two slipped back stage to quick tune Yumi. Then after the Accident Prone Trio (Chandler on drums, William on harmonica, and Odd on lead vocals and electric guitar) performed "Doin' my Thing" by Luke Bryan, it was their turn.


	6. Showtime

**Showtime**

Mr. Delmas stepped up to the microphone and said "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls. It is my honor to introduce our final act of the night, playing an original composition for a piano/ocarina duet, Alex Clelland and Yumi Ishiyama playing a piano/ocarina medley entitled _The Song of the Shadows_.

Alex took his seat at the black grand piano and Yumi took her seat in a chair next to him. Alex's hands started moving gently across the keys as he played the opening chords. Then Yumi got the air flowing through her instrument and started playing. Aelita was sitting in the front row, when she heard this blissful music, she started swaying along.

After about 2 minutes of playing Alex hit his favorite part, his piano solo. He didn't care how messed up his tuxedo would get. His fingers moved at a heightened pace. Inside the piano, the little hammers inside rapidly hit the sound board. Soon enough though he hit the end of the song, his hands slowed down so that he could play the remaining nine chords of the song.

The song ended and the crowd gave the two a standing ovation. Alex and Yumi stood up and took a bow. Alex took Yumi's hand and escorted her off stage. After leaving her with Ulrich, Alex took his seat next to Aelita.

Mr. Delmas stepped onto the stage and called for the audience's attention. He held 3 manila envelopes.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you once again for attending the annual Kadic Academy Festival of Music. I'm glad you made it and would like to present these 3 awards to the top 3 performers of the night."

Mr. Delmas opened the top envelope and read "I will now read the top 3 performances of the night. In 3rd place, winning a $50 gift card to Olive Garden, with the four seasons played on sitar, Hiroki Ishiyama. In 2nd place, winning $100 apiece, with Doin' my Thing by Luke Bryan; The accident prone trio, Odd Della Robia, William Dunbar, and Chandler Fonseca. And finally in first place, winning a shopping spree at the mall and at Sound Sensation, Alex Clelland and Yumi Ishiyama, for their composition Song of the Shadows.

Alex couldn't believe his ears as he escorted Yumi back up on stage. They accepted their prizes and took their seats. The festival ended and everyone slowly filed out. Alex took his tuxedo off, and put it in a slip cover bag. After getting changed for bed, he fell asleep.


	7. The Truth is Revealed

**The Truth is Revealed**

Alex woke up one Sunday morning to find Jeremy asleep at his computer; Alex picked up Jeremy (who was pretty light), and set him down in bed. Alex saw what Jeremy was doing, he was looking through the diary of Franz Hopper (Aelita's Father) Alex sat down and began looking. After opening the last file, which was a text document instead of a video file, Alex looked at the time stamp on the entry. December 22, 2010 (_three years after XANA was destroyed in the show_)

_This is the last entry I will ever write. My day of reckoning has come; soon XANA and I will no longer exist. At least that is if I can help my daughter's friends then things will go down smoothly. I have already taken a precaution with the key to Lyoko that I took back from XANA; I shall leave it in the memory of the computer if XANA is to ever reawaken. The key will go to the next new person scanned into the world of my creation. They will hold both a gift and a burden, the ability to prevent XANA from severely damaging the human world. I pray that the key ends up in the hands of an adventuresome soul, who is kind, and hates to see their friends hurt._

_This entry is my last; my time is upon me, Goodbye forever everyone_

_-Waldo Schaeffer (Franz Hopper)_

Alex couldn't believe what he was reading. He had inherited the burden of being, as Odd called him, the Prince of Lyoko. He closed the document, got up and went to take a shower. After getting dressed, Alex went down to breakfast. Down at the table Alex sat there tearing bits off his big cinnamon roll. He hadn't touched his green apple or his peppermint mocha. This was making a certain blonde boy across the table a little nervous.

"Alex, is there something on your mind?" Odd asked

"It's nothing Odd, why you ask?" Alex replied

"Never mind Alex…say are you going to eat that apple?"

Alex looked at the uneaten fruit next to his cinnamon roll, picked it up and tossed it to odd "Knock yourself out buddy." Odd caught the apple and bit in. Alex picked up the remaining half of his roll and bit in. After taking a swig of his mocha he asked Odd where the Aelita and Ulrich were.

Odd thought for a second and answered "Ulrich's in the gym playing 1-on-1 with William and Aelita's in the library." Alex finished off his food, told Odd to get the Pop Rock Progressives together and left the cafeteria.

About 10 minutes later Alex was hooking up his headset microphone. Jeremy and Herb had just finished a sound check and were ready to watch. Alex gave his band mates some sheet music and waited with his head down. Across the auditorium Jeremy cranked up the volume on the speakers and opened the doors.

Nicholas hit the bass drum a few times before Odd joined in with his guitar. Alex's head came up and he started singing

I remembered black skies  
>The lightning all around me<br>I remembered each flash  
>As time began to blur<br>Like a startling sign  
>That fate had finally found me<br>And your voice was all I heard  
>That I get what I deserve<p>

So give me reason  
>To prove me wrong<br>To wash this memory clean  
>Let the floods cross<br>The distance in your eyes  
>Give me reason<br>To fill this hole  
>Connect this space between<br>Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies  
>Across this new divide<p>

There was nothing inside  
>The memories left abandoned<br>There was nowhere to hide  
>The ashes fell like snow<br>And the ground caved in  
>Between where we were standing<br>And your voice was all I heard  
>That I get what I deserve<p>

Alex kept singing as Kadic students piled into the auditorium. Odd was smiling and Yumi joined Alex in the next chorus of the song.

So give me reason  
>To prove me wrong<br>To wash this memory clean  
>Let the floods cross<br>The distance in your eyes  
>Across this new divide<p>

In every loss in every lie  
>In every truth that you deny<br>And each regret and each goodbye  
>Was a mistake too great to hide<br>And your voice was all I heard  
>That I get what I deserve<p>

So give me reason  
>To prove me wrong<br>To wash this memory clean  
>Let the floods cross<br>The distance in your eyes  
>Give me reason<br>To fill this hole  
>Connect this space between<br>Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies  
>Across this new divide<br>Across this new divide  
>Across this new divide<p>

Alex finished the song and after they put their equipment away Alex explained to Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremy what he had read in Franz Hopper's diary. Jeremy listened intently, while the others were a little confused. But after Jeremy explained even further he asked Alex a very important question.

"Now that you know why you can disable the dark towers, do you plan to keep fighting?"

Alex thought for a second and nodded, "Whatever it takes to keep XANA from taking over the real world."

After that they left the gym, and went into town together.


	8. The End of the School Year

Alex and his friends new it was only a few days until they were free for the summer. Alex stood by the vending machines, flipping a coin and deciding what soda to get. He flipped it one last time and stuck it in the machine. He hit the button and got a cherry cola, as he turned away, his cell phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the text. Jeremy wanted everyone to meet at the factory ASAP.

Alex pocketed his cell phone and slipped into the gym. He made his way to the passage tunnel in the boiler room and went down into the sewers. After mounting his BMX bike, he rode off. He arrived at the factory, swung down on the ropes, did a left shoulder roll into the elevator and rode down to the lab.

Jeremy and Aelita were already there; William, Ulrich, Odd and Yumi filed in later. And Jeremy explained that he was going to initiate his old multi-agent system to disable XANA for the summer (that's all it would do anyway) but first there was a new replica that had just shown up this morning, along with the fact that Chandler Odd and Yumi were to stay behind and operate the supercomputer.

When asked why he wasn't going to be in the lab, running everything Jeremy simply answered "I'm going to help destroy the replica." With that Alex, Ulrich, and Jeremy were virtualized first, Then Aelita and William. They boarded the Skidbladnir and were off. Minutes later they arrived in the new replica, it was the mountain sector. Aelita maneuvered over to the main tower and docked. William, Ulrich and her disembarked well Alex and Jeremy waited inside their Navskids.

In the lab, Yumi tapped in the commands Jeremy had left on a note card and Alex and Jeremy were teleported into a mountain pass somewhere in the Andes Mountains. Alex noticed an old military base and Jeremy just used his eagle vision power to check it out. Sure enough it was where the supercomputer was being housed.

Alex jumped down onto a lower ledge and Jeremy mimicked his exact movements until they were by the gates. Jeremy broke the lock by slashing it with his kolishmarde. After shoving the gates open, Alex and Jeremy walked through, that's when Alex asked "Jeremy, what's your least favorite monster to fight?"

Jeremy thought for a second and answered, "The bloks, I've always found a total pain in the ass to fight." Alex just responded "I just flat out cannot stand those hornets."

In the lab the superscan opened up on screen and Yumi said "Aelita, activated tower, I localized it in a gulch nearby."

On the replica, Aelita and William took off, leaving Ulrich and Odd to guard the skid. Meanwhile Alex and Jeremy had just opened up a door to a set of stairs leading down when they heard a noise behind them. They turned around and saw Bloks coming at them. Alex shoved Jeremy through the door and after he himself was in Alex slammed the door behind him.

"That means XANA has activated a tower on the replica, and I know it's not a dark tower. So I hope Aelita can manage to deactivate it." Alex said. He took off down the stairs, with Jeremy right on his heels. When they reached the bottom Alex chucked a repulse grenade yelling "Fire in the hole!" just as the grenade exploded.

Alex and Jeremy continued on until they found a locked door. Jeremy was finally able to test out his other power, Techno Control, he lifted his hand and the door swung open. Alex threw another grenade into the room, yelled "Fire in the hole!" and Jeremy used techno control to slam the door shut and lock it.

The two ran to the door, they had come in at, the Bloks were gone. They swung the door open and made it out to the spot they came in. In the lab, Yumi brought Alex and Jeremy back to the skid and once Aelita and William boarded (Odd was devirtualized by a tarantula), the skid left the replica bound for Lyoko.

After the skid docked and Alex, Jeremy, Ulrich, Aelita and William disembarked, they were brought back to earth. Chandler had just finished his late homework in the scanner room when Alex, William, and Jeremy exited the scanners followed by Ulrich and Aelita. Chandler got up, went upstairs to the lab where Odd and Yumi got in, and rode up even further to the main level. The delay on Jeremy's old multi-agent program timed out, and it dispersed through Lyoko and the network.

The kids left each other for the summer after classes got out. Alex and Aelita had a planned out itinerary for the summer, Ulrich and Yumi were going to spend the summer in Japan, Odd was off to see his family, William was off to see his mom and dad, Chandler would be heading back to the U.S. for the summer, and Jeremy would be touring around Europe with his family. Everyone had things to do, and after a few hugs Team Lyoko left the gates of Kadic behind in the setting sun bound for the airport.


End file.
